AIKEN NEWS NETWORK MARCH 11

[Pamela]

Runner-up Clay Aiken molded into gold

BY Grant Britt
 
Coming in second in most contests gets you a hearty handshake and a quick trip out fame’s back door. But for American Idol’s Clay Aiken, second best has made him a winner in the eyes of a large part of the younger female population. As anybody in the civilized world with access to electricity and a TV screen is aware by now, Aiken lost the AI top slot to Ruben Studdard by100,000 votes out of 24 million cast. By the force of his personality, Aiken turned a situation that would have made anybody else a has-been into a successful career as a singer. Aiken’s talent was obvious back in high school. Leesville Road High School Principal Richard Murphy says that Aiken’s gift was constantly on display. “He was not only very talented vocally, but he was quite the young actor too, as I’m sure that many people can surmise from watching him,” Murphy says of his former student. Aiken is generally thought of as an amateur singer without much experience, but Principal Murphy say that Clayton, as he was known back then, worked before a crowd every chance he got. “Clayton was very much at home in front of a school of 200 kids and at pep rallies,” the principal says, “singing or on stage in front of a packed audience for our musicals. There are people who glow or develop in the limelight, and he was one of them.” But Aiken’s development didn’t work for him in the American Idol tryouts. The first time he auditioned — in Charlotte, he was eliminated. Undaunted, Aiken drove to Atlanta to audition again, and made it through, only to be eliminated later in a run-in with resident British bully Simon Cowell. The acerbic Brit-twit told him that his voice was impressive, but his look was nowhere. “You don’t look like a pop star,” Cowell told Aiken before dismissing him. Reinstated in a wildcard pick, Aiken, who shed his glasses and got a scruffier hairdo along the way, went through round after round, performing material from Elton John’s “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” to “Build Me Up Butter Cup,” “To Love Somebody,” and “Grease.” It was his rendition of “ Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” in the final round impresses even Cowell, who tells Aiken that his performance might just win him the title. But when the votes are counted, he loses to Studdard. His grace in losing enamored him even more to fans, who couldn’t get enough of his aw-shucks attitude and soft Southern accent. Aiken says later that his poise and graciousness in losing was aided by the fact that he had peeked at the cards host Ryan Secrest was holding and had seen that he had lost before the official announcement was made. But those who know him say that Aiken has always shown class. “He knows who he is,” says Principal Murphy, “and fame or the lack of it won’t change that.” Although Principal Murphy is the first to admit that Aiken has a gift, he’s also quick to point out that the singer has worked hard to develop it and has had some help along the way. “A lot of people have contributed in some small way to he development of that gift,” Murphy says, “none of the least of which is his mother, Faye Parker.” Aiken has always credited his mom for supporting him in his endeavors and being there for him. The singer, who was estranged from his birth father, changed his last name from Grissom, taking his mother’s maiden name when he was 20. He did not attend the funeral of his father, Vernon, who died recently. Despite his fame and popularity, Aiken keeps a relatively low profile. “I’m supposed to be living this glamorous life,” Aiken told the Houston Post recently. “But every night I’m sitting at home in my pajamas watching TiVo and ordering take-out.” When he does get a night out, it’s usually on-stage. Aiken will be bringing his act to the LJVM on the March 13 with fellow Idol Kelly Clarkson who won the show’s inaugural competition. And true to his image, the singer promises that the show will be a low key affair. “There’s no pyrotechnics or dancers,” he told the Post. “No one’s swinging from the ceiling. It’s about the vocals and the music.”

ESP MAGAZINE

[Pamela]

Radio and Records Weekly Chart Rankings

CHR/Pop
#29 - Kimberley Locke/8th World Wonder
#47 - Clay Aiken/The Way

AC
#15 - Clay Aiken/Invisible

Hot AC
#30 - Clay Aiken/Invisible
#34 - Kimberley Locke/8th World Wonder

[Pamela]

BILLBOARD BOXSCORE Concert Grosses

Here are the gross sales numbers for the Clay & Kelly Tour for the first couple of weeks. (Gross sales, attendance, capacity and % attendance for each show):

Location...............Gross...........Att.........Cap.......% Att
Charlotte, N.C......$367,875......8657.......8959......96.6%
Duluth, Ga...........$417,642......9166.......9636......95.1%
Tampa, Fla...........$323,247......7198.......7829......91.9%
Miami, Fla............$245,818......5395.......6204......87.0%
Raleigh, N.C.........$586,230.....13538.....13538......100.0%
Philadelphia, Pa....$368,378......7934.......9229......86.0%
Uniondale, N.Y......$565,198......12501.....12769......97.9%
Washington, D.C...$458,128......10627.....12102......87.8%
Wilkes-Barre, Pa...$321,470......7660.......7898......97.0%

Billboard Boxscore Top 10 Grossing Concerts

Raleigh and Nassau Independent Tour stops are both on the list!

BILLBOARD BOXSCORE

[Pamela]

Another place to see the video for The Way:

http://entertainment.msn.com/celebs/article.aspx?news=151511

[Pamela]

REMINDER:

The single (The Way/Solitaire) goes on sale next Tuesday!

[songbird457]

Don't forget everyone! Clay and Kelly are coming here (Detroit) today. I will see them in less than 18 hrs! And I get to meet Houston in like 10 hrs!  :D

Just thought I'd remind you all in case you forgot.  :

[Pamela]

AFI counts down to film's greatest songs

By ARMY ARCHERD
Just for Variety: This is one show I wont miss -- June 22, 8-11 p.m. on CBS: "AFI's -- 100 Years -- 100 Songs". The countdown to the greatest songs in movies -- with clips to match -- will feature the following stars (already taped) commenting: Angela Lansbury, Barbra Streisand, Andy Williams, Carole Bayer Sager, Debbie Allen, Baz Luhrmann, Rob Marshall, Marvin Hamlisch, Burt Bacharach, Clay Aiken, Debbie Reynolds, Isaac Hayes, Tony Martin, Cyd Charisse, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Betty Comden....

VARIETY.COM (subscription required)

[Claymate16]

CLAY AND KELLY ARE AT THE JOE LOUIS ARENA DOING SOUND CHECKS AS I AM TYPING THIS UP  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D

[CT loves Clay]

Songbird,

I am so envious of you today.  I saw Clay Monday night and my heart is just aching to see more.  I swear, if my friend and I could miracuously get a ticket somehow, we would be on a bus (cheaper) to NC tomorrow night.  You will be more in love with him than ever.  Oh yeah, Kelly was there too.  ha ha  No, she was good.  I just have one main interest.  ha ha

Linda

[Pamela]

'American Idol' Picks 12 Finalists    

Wed Mar 10, 3:40 PM ET   
LOS ANGELES - From thousands of would-be superstars down to 12 contenders. Fox's "American Idol" talent contest was to pare its group of finalists to an even dozen Wednesday night, picking four "wild card" candidates from among eight who performed the night before.
 
One wild card finalist was to be chosen based on viewer voting; the other three were to be selected by judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul (news) and Simon Cowell.
The four join the already selected finalists, including Fantasia Barrino, 19, Highpoint, N.C.; Diana Degarmo, 16, Snellville, Ga.; Camile Velasco, 18, Haiku, Hawaii; and Matthew Rogers, 25, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Other finalists are La Toya London, 24, Hawthorne, Calif.; Amy Adams, 24, Bakersfield, Calif.; Jasmine Trias, 17, Mililani, Hawaii, and John Stevens, 16, East Amherst, N.Y.
The group will perform March 16 in a two-hour live show, 8-10 p.m. EST. The top four finalists will be announced on May 5, with the series finale May 25-26.

Past "American Idol" winners include Kelly Clarkson (news) and Ruben Studdard, who both had top 10 releases. But the biggest Idol is 2003 runner-up Clay Aiken.

YAHOO

Yes, I posted this entire article just for that last sentence. I never said I wasn't silly.

[Pamela]

Mediabase Report

The Way is #52 on the CHR/Pop chart with 727 spins.  That's really not too good...please take a minute and visit the Polling Place if you can, and show Clay some love on Carson Daly's Most Requested and JoJo's 9 at 9.

http://claymaniacs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=497
ThanX!

Invisible is at #78 on CHR/Pop with 237 spins.

On the AC spin chart, Invisible is #14 with 1101 spins.  This song has got legs on AC radio!  Invisible is still being played a lot on the Adult Contemporary stations, which is probably why we aren't hearing The Way on these stations yet.  That's okay, it's time will come!

[cjrmax]

Pamela wrote:

The Way is #52 on the CHR/Pop chart with 727 spins. That's really not too good...please take a minute and visit the Polling Place if you can, and show Clay some love on Carson Daly's Most Requested and JoJo's 9 at 9.

Why are the radio stations so resistent to playing Clay?  I have voted every day, e-mailed and faxed 2 of my local radio stations where I hear Clay - one of which plays both "Invisible" and TITN daily during work hours at least!  Yet no one seems to be playing "The Way"!  He has sold over 2.5 million albums, has gone triple platinum in less than 5 months, is wowing 10,000 people a night in concerts, his video for "The Way" reached #1 in less than a week on TRL and STILL they don't play "The Way"?  I don't get it!  I thought program directors wanted to give the people what they wanted to get more listeners to make their sponsor's happy!  I just feel so helpless!  

Maybe when "The Way" sells like hotcakes they will sit up and take notice???  (Which means make sure and buy at least one copy!!) We can only hope!

[Kat4Clay]

Tell me about it!!!......I am also so frustrated with them.  I vote daily and email them all the time but they are just not listening.  One time, Ryan Seacrest played The Way ONCE but it was early in the morning (I think the rooster hasn't crowed yet).  But that was it!!!!  I never heard him play it anymore.  It was like he was ashamed of the song!!!  I could scream!!!

Then I hear him playing Jessica Simpson's new song Take My Breath Away and it think her rendition is a disaster!!!

[ANGELA]

I LISTEN TO  A PARTICULAR STATION IN WORCESTER, MA 104.5 (WXLO)THEY ALWAYS HAVE NICE THINGS TO SAY ABOUT CLAY.  THEY PLAY INVISIBLE AT LEAST  3 TIMES  DURING MY WORK DAY.  BUT WHEN I ASK THEM IN A  VERY  POLITE WAY TO PLAY , "THE WAY"  ,THEY SAY SURE THING,  AND THEY NEVER PLAY IT.
I HAVE EVEN E-MAILED THEM MANY TIMES ABOUT PLAYING THE WAY.

 WHAT IS THE SECRET??-- DOES ANYONE KNOW, HOW  TO GET THEM TO PLAY THE WAY?

THANKS--I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY SUGGESTIONS

ANGELA

[Her]

Yesterday, I was able to request on 3 different stations!! Only 2 count though in the countdowns.  They like them and always have great things to say about him.

Keep on trying everyone, don't give up!!!!

[BlownAway]

'American Idols' belt out the hits


 
Clay and Kelly belt out the hits live, with varying degrees of success.

By JESSE SCOTT


Date published: 3/11/2004


YOUTH CORRESPONDENT

On Fox's "American Idol," millions of votes were cast and at least two stars were produced, including Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken.

Last Friday at the MCI Center, many of the fans who aided those two through each round of the show arrived in supportive fashion--to enjoy an evening of vocals straight from the mouths they voted for.

The crowd was loaded with the exact sorts of people you'd expect: 10-year-old schoolgirls smeared with "Claymate" wear, high-school boys checking out Kelly--and senior citizens who openly wanted to pinch Clay's cheeks and tell him how he was cute as a button.

From the get-go, respect was due to Clay for still being the same person America voted for. Unlike second-season victor Ruben Studdard, Clay hasn't given in to the great image-changing machine that exists in the big leagues.

Throughout his 15-song opening set, he proved he's still that geeky, former special-education teacher from North Carolina who loves to act like he's on Broadway and put smiles on people's faces.

During one break, Clay pulled a girl's cell phone up on stage and began talking to her friend. The young lady on the other end initially didn't think it was Clay, but once she found out it was, she broke into absolute mayhem--forcing Clay to repeat, "Calm down, sweetie! Calm down, sweetie!"

Aiken has an indescribable spark that lights fires in the ears of those who hear his unique voice. By the end of his set (which featured "Invisible," "Measure of a Man" and "The Way"), these fires were burning strong.

They were about to be reduced by Ms. Clarkson.

Kelly, as an "Idol," is much like Clay: likeable and extremely vocally talented. However, Clarkson lacked a way to successfully connect with the crowd.

During her performances of lesser-known songs, the crowd's attention seemed to diminish. Yet the construction of a well-crafted set list kept the crowd seated in the arena.

Clarkson showed extreme musical versatility with the delivery of the pop hit "Miss Independent," the heavy techno-ish "Bounce" and her slow smash "A Moment Like This."

To wrap up the evening, Clay strutted back onstage to the uproar of high-pitched screams and performed "Open Arms" with Kelly.

Clay and Kelly have greatly matured since their successes on "Idol." They proved there's more to being an star than just standing on a stage and delivering immense vocals.

JESSE SCOTT is a senior at Stafford High School.

Date published: 3/11/2004

[liney23]

You know when the PETA thing came up, what seemed to have the most impact was contacting PETAs sponsers and telling them that they were losing customers because they were sponsering an organization who bashed Clay so badly.  

Maybe if you contact some of the radio stations biggest sponsers and tell them that you have requested this wonderful young man's music and the station is not responding and it's too bad, cause more people/you would listen and hear their ads if the station played Clay's music more.  

Tell them about the triple-platinum sales and the 10,000 per night concerts and they may GET how popular he really is among the ordinary money-spending public.  

The ones who make the set lists for the stations are not open to Clay cause the music industry is afraid of the changes he is making.  If they can keep him off the radios, then they can keep him off the charts/awards and sink him (THEY think, we know better).

Try it, it can't hurt!

[ANGELA]

liney,
YOU BRING UP SOME VERY GOOD POINTS IN YOUR POST;

Maybe if you contact some of the radio stations biggest sponsers and tell them that you have requested this wonderful young man's music and the station is not responding and it's too bad, cause more people/you would listen and hear their ads if the station played Clay's music more.

Tell them about the triple-platinum sales and the 10,000 per night concerts and they may GET how popular he really is among the ordinary money-spending public.

[lorraine]

I am just as frustrated here in Connecticut.  Our radio stations literally suck (sorry).  Some of them you can't even call to make a request until after 9:00 p.m. at night.  With Clay filling up concerts, women by the hundreds even thousands going crazy, sales off the charts need I go on then why or why won't they given him a break.  I am looking for answers too.  I do my voting daily for JoJo, Carson and it is hurtful and not that I don't like Kimberly but her song is being played more than Clay.  If someone has any answers let us know.


Lorraine